1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a movable member for assisting a connection with a mating connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-326024 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-30961 disclose a lever-type connector with first and second housings. The connector also has a U-shaped lever with an operable portion and two arms that straddle the first housing. The arms of the lever have cam grooves that engage cam pins on the second housing. The housings are fit lightly together so that the cam pins enter the cam grooves of the lever. The lever then is rotated and the cam action of the cam pins and the cam grooves pull the housings towards a properly connected state.
The rotational axis of the lever may be displaced to one side of the widthwise center to ensure a large rotation stroke of the lever. Some lever-type connectors also have only one arm supported at one side of the housing. A connecting force is skewed if the rotational axis of the lever is displaced from the center of the housing with respect to the width or height directions. As a result, both housings may be inclined from proper connecting postures.
Terminal insertion holes are formed in the rear end surface of the housing and cavities communicate with the terminal insertion holes for accommodating the terminal fittings. The lever is mounted so that the operable portion projects from the rear end surface of the housing.
The terminal fittings may be inserted into the cavities by an automatic machine. The automatic machine may stop temporarily if the front of the terminal fitting contacts a step on the rear end of the housing, thereby deteriorating operation efficiency. More particularly, part of the lever of a lever-type connector may project from the rear end of a housing and may complicate insertion of a terminal fitting by an automatic machine.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to improve the overall operability of the connector.